Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [06 - 11 Jan]

During the week, as many as 27 Indian startups raised around $466.45 million in funding. These deals include 8 growth-stage deals and 14 early-stage deals. While 5 startups kept the transaction details undisclosed.

Last week, 8 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised around $33.44 million in funding.

Growth-stage deals

Among the growth-stage deals, Healthcare unicorn raised $275 million in Series E round from B Capital Group, Banner Health, Danaher Ventures LLC, Generation Investment Management, Kaiser Permanente, M12. Hospitality major Oyo also raised $65 million from  Redspring Innovation Partners. NBFC company Infinity Fincorp Solutions bagged $35 million in Series B round led by Jungle Ventures. Medical devices manufacturer raised $20 million & Education loans-focused fintech startup GrayQuest raised $9.3 million from True North. 

Early-stage deals

Further, 14 early-stage startups secured funding worth $43.75 million during the week. D2C banana chips brand led the list  followed by Energy-tech startup EMO Energy, Electric motorcycle manufacturer Oben Electric, D2C Farm-to-face luxury skincare and personal care brand and real estate investment platform hBits.

B2B construction solution platform Nirmaan, retail analytics platform ClicFlyer, Tech-driven laundry and dry cleaning Revivo and others also raised a sum but didn’t disclose the amount raised. For more information, visit TheKredible.

City and segment-wise deals

In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Delhi-NCR-based startups led with 9 deals followed by Bengaluru, Mumbai, Alappuzha, Kolkata, Hyderabad.

Segment-wise, E-commerce startups are at the top spot with 5 deals. Healthtech, Fintech followed with 4 deals each. EV, Hospitality, Cybersecurity & others also bagged the deals.

Series-wise deals

During the week, Series A and Seed  funding deals led with 8 deals each followed by Series B, pre-seed, Series E, Series G and others.

Week-on-week funding trend

On a weekly basis, startup funding jumped 14X to $466.45 million as compared to around $33.44 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $309.12 million with 23 deals per week.

Key hirings and departures

The startup ecosystem witnessed significant leadership changes this week. Rishen Kapoor, co-founder and CEO of SaaS startup Toplyne, returns to Peak XV Partners after his venture shut down. Deep-tech startup Enlog has elevated Ayush Gupta, its chief technology officer (CTO), to co-founder of the company. Dunzo’s ex CEO has joined Flipkart to head the quick commerce segment. Snapdeal appointed Achint Setia as CEO while Himanshu Chakrawarti will transition to the role of CEO of stellar brands (subsidiary of AceVector Limited, holding company of Snapdeal). Visit TheKredible for more information.

Fund Launches

Fundalogical Ventures (FV) has launched the first edition of FV Trailblazers, focusing on sustainable supply chains and logistics in India. Venture capital firm Accel, has announced its eighth fund, dedicating $650 million to early-stage startups across India and Southeast Asia. South Park Commons (SPC), a technical community and early-stage venture fund, is raising money for an India-focused fund.

Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights.

New launches and partnerships

▪️ Zaggle Partners with Zepto to Provide SaaS Solutions

▪️ Udaan's Amod Malviya and Rishi Kedia launch new startup Pre6

▪️ upGrad’s Mayank Kumar and OYO’s Ayush Mathur launch BorderPlus

▪️ ePlane Partners TCS To Develop Electric Air Mobility Solutions

▪️ Cars24 Launches Listing Platform For Driving Schools On Its App

▪️ Inshorts cofounder Azhar Iqubal announces new venture Fenado AI

▪️  Ecom Express Launches Learning Platform 'E-Pathshaala'

▪️ Swiggy introduces ‘Swiggy Serves’ to combat food waste and hunger

▪️ Swiggy launches new app SNACC for 15-min food delivery

▪️ Zomato re-enters instant food delivery space

▪️Agritech startup Wavar announces strategic partnership with Krushi Sarthi

Potential Deals

▪️ BluSmart to raise $50 Mn in new round

▪️Waycool to raise $13 Mn debt from Grand Anicut

▪️ D2C Beauty Brand Wow Skin Science Seeks Strategic Buyer at a Reduced Valuation of $250 Million

▪️ Groyyo In Talks To Raise $40 Mn From Tiger Global, Others

▪️ Kuku FM to launch a dedicated spiritual app as part of expansion plans

▪️ Zypp in discussions to secure an additional $35 million in its ongoing funding round

▪️D2C  startup The Whole Truth in discussions to secure $25 Million from Peak XV, Accel & others

Financial results this week

▪️ Practo delivers  3,500 Cr GMV in FY24; narrows EBITDA losses by 82%

▪️ Drishti IAS posts  Rs 405 Cr revenue and Rs 90 Cr PAT in FY24

▪️Decoding ShareChat’s financial performance in FY24

▪️ Bakingo crosses Rs 200 Cr revenue in FY24 with marginal losses

▪️ PokerBaazi parent crosses Rs 400 Cr revenue in FY24; profits grew 26%

▪️MobiKwik posts Rs 291 Cr revenue and Rs 3.5 Cr loss in Q2 FY25

▪️ VAHDAM India narrows losses by 68% to Rs 18 Cr in FY24

[News flash this week]

▪️Groww hits 13 Mn active users in December, Zerodha's growth slows

▪️PhonePe, G-Pay lead UPI  transactions in December; Paytm struggles

▪️Supreme Court stays GST  notices, relief for gaming sector

▪️Ola Electric receives SEBI warning over disclosure violation

▪️ Zomato share price slides on Jefferies' 'hold' rating

▪️ Otipy pilots electric carts to sell fruits and veggies offline

▪️ OYO prohibits unmarried couples from booking

▪️ Amit Banerji, Founder of Table Space, Passes Away at 45

▪️ Zepto set to submit IPO draft papers in March

▪️ KredX receives RBI approval to launch TReDS platform

▪️Lenskart begins discussions with bankers to explore a $1 billion IPO pitch.

Conclusion

On a weekly basis, startup funding jumped 14X to $466.45 million as compared to around $33.44 million raised during the previous week.

During the week, Groww solidified its dominance in the stockbroking space with 13.16 million active clients, capturing substantial 26.59% market share, followed by Zerodha and AngelOne with 16.41% and 15.67% market share, respectively.

The Supreme Court of India has stayed GST show-cause notices issued to several online gaming companies, offering temporary relief to the sector amid growing tax scrutiny.

Foodtech giant Swiggy has launched a new app, SNACC, to deliver food in 15 minutes while Zomato also launched 15-minute food delivery in select cities. 

In the public markets, eyewear company Lenskart has begun discussions with bankers to plan a $1 billion IPO, while quick commerce platform Zepto is preparing to file its IPO papers by March or April this year.